Seventeen-year-old Sharday Nicole Badillo was a senior at Colony High School in Palmer, Alaska, and had been the manager of the high school football team for four years. By the age of 13, Sharday had become a nationally published poet with her poem 'Cherish the Moments'. She was not the typical high school student; many people noted Sharday's unconditonal acceptance of others, her kindness and the strength of her spirit<./P>

On November 23, 2003, the day before Thanksgiving, Sharday was killed instantly by an out-of-control truck. Because of her parents’ decision to donate Sharday’s organs, 48 people across the country, ranging from a six-year old boy to a 65-year old woman, now have better lives due to her gifts of skin, bone, soft tissue and heart valves.